11 GOP lawmakers formally back Hobby Lobby

(Washington Times) Eleven Republican members of Congress are challenging the contraception insurance mandate in President Obama’s health care law by formally backing Hobby Lobby, the Oklahoma-based chain of crafts stores whose owners say they must choose between their Christian beliefs and insuring women’s birth control and other preventative services.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch led the group of nine senators and two House members in filing a friend-of-the-court brief on the company’s behalf in the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“Religious freedom is an issue our country was founded on, and it’s not a Democrat or Republican issue,” Mr. Hatch said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, the Obama administration has time and again ignored calls to stop the implementation of a policy some organizations or businesses are morally opposed to.”